Therefore, even if they knew that Chu Liuxiang was falsely accused, the case had to be handled according to the procedures. After all, it was my father who judged the case, so how could he be biased towards outsiders?

Besides, it was expected that after two years of rectification by Wu Chengen and Xu Wei, there would be no chaos in the government office, and Chu Liuxiang's life was probably not in danger. Zhao Hao asked someone to go back and investigate what was going on, and he would deal with everything after he arrived in Kunshan.

After thinking clearly about the pros and cons, Mr. Zhao finally stopped being angry. He happily hugged Xiao Zhuzi tightly, then buried his head in her chest and said happily: "Xiao Jing, you are my uterus..."

Zhang Xiaojing blushed, but she struggled to get away, regretting it so much. Impulse is the devil...

Secretary Ma behind her looked down at herself and sighed.

Qiaoqiao also looked down at herself, and her eyes lit up, as if she had learned some extraordinary moves...

~~

The Science continued to move forward. It was already late February and the South Canal had already resumed its busy schedule. Thousands of ships were competing on the waterway, causing severe congestion.

It took Master Zhao another five days to reach Suzhou City, which was really a snail's pace.

"When the three vertical and three horizontal waterways are dredged next year, the situation will be much better." Young Master Zhao smiled at Zheng Ruozeng who came to greet him, "By then, the Qinhuai River can be directly connected to the Wushen Canal via the Lishui River, which can save a lot of time. The congestion of the Danjin Licao River will also be greatly alleviated."

"It's all thanks to you, young master." After two months of recuperation at home and taking Wan Mi Zhai's prescription, Zheng Ruoceng looked much better. He even walked with a cane without his son's support. "Throughout the ages, there have been many philanthropists who have built bridges and roads, but there has never been anyone like you who attaches so much importance to transportation!"

Historically, he died of illness a few years later after returning home from the persecution of Hu Zongxian. Now that he has seen hope again, he even went to Japan to shoot artillery and vent his anger. Mr. Kaiyang's heart was relieved and it seemed that he could live a few more years.

"If you want to be rich, build roads first and have fewer children... Pah, have more children and plant more trees." Mr. Zhao said, and walked forward to support Zheng Ruozeng and said, "Mr. Kaiyang is waiting in the county, why bother to go all the way to Suzhou to meet him?"

"It's not tiring to take a boat." Zheng Ruozeng waved his hand and smiled, "Besides, I can also tell you about the case of Police Officer Chu in advance."

Zhao Hao knew that if he wanted to understand the hidden truth of the case, it would be far better to ask Zheng Ruozeng, a local snake, rather than relying on outsiders like his father or Mr. Wu. So he asked the guards to rush to send a message to Mr. Kaiyang on the way.

After receiving the letter, Zheng Ruozeng naturally did not dare to neglect it and immediately ordered his youngest son Yiluan to find out the situation. His eldest son Yinglong was in the county government, helping Wu Chengen. Zheng Yiluan easily found out from him that it was a scholar named Xue Xiaoren who reported Chu Liuxiang.

The Zheng family was a prominent family in Kunshan County. As long as they wanted to know, there was no secret in the county. After Zheng Yiluan made some inquiries, he understood the whole story. He was afraid of making any mistakes, so he checked many places and reported it to his father only after he was sure that everything was correct.

"It's such a cliché..." On the front deck of the Science, Zheng Ruozeng sat at a round table, tasting the pre-rainy Longjing tea that had just fallen this year, and told Zhao Hao:

"That police officer Chu's family arranged a marriage for him. The girl is Liu Niang, the daughter of an old scholar named Wang Jie in Wangzi Village, Kunbei, this county."

"Wow." Young Master Zhao was surprised and said, "That's amazing."

Not to mention this era, even 400 years later, the marriage of children still requires the same social status. Chu Liuxiang's family was the lowest class of Shandong refugees, and he came to Suzhou to marry the daughter of a local scholar. This was indeed a big step.

"The main reason is that his mother felt that her son had become rich and powerful, and it would not be a good match for him to marry a girl from a peasant family." Zheng Ruozeng couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Is he a police officer?" Zhao Hao asked Secretary Ma behind him.

"First-class police sergeant." Secretary Ma answered simply.

"This is a good thing..." Zhao Hao laughed and said, "It shows that he has ambitions."

"I guess that kid boasted a lot when he got home. Besides, the several hundred taels of silver he brought back couldn't be fake." Zheng Ruozeng continued, "Anyway, his mother wanted to find him a girl from a good family. As long as there is money, the matchmaker will find him a girl. Cast a wide net and you will always find the right one."

"That old scholar Wang, who was not living a happy life, was persuaded by the matchmaker and agreed to marry Liu Niang to him." Zheng Ruoceng looked at Secretary Ma and whispered awkwardly, "That Liu Niang... nicknamed 'Liu Da Piaoliang', is said to have some improper deeds, and it is well known in the surrounding area, so she is still unmarried in her early twenties. The matchmaker took advantage of the Chu family because they were outsiders and did not know the reputation of the people, and praised Liu Niang so much that Mrs. Chu was very happy and proposed to her during the Chinese New Year."

Mr. Zhao wanted to ask for his friend what the improper behavior was. But Sister Ma was standing behind him, so he should be more decent and behave like a decent person.

"When I heard that Liu Damei was getting married, her cousin Xue Xiaoren, who was in love with her, was not happy." Zheng Ruozeng continued, "So he instigated his uncle to ask for more gifts at the last minute, hoping to ruin the marriage. Unexpectedly, the Chu family was so generous and actually gave the full amount."

"After receiving two hundred taels of betrothal gifts, Mr. Wang was extremely satisfied and stopped making trouble. I don't know if Xue Xiaoren was jealous or just couldn't bear to part with his cousin, but he took the Chu family's gift list and reported it to the authorities, saying that Chu Liuxiang must have gone to sea to collude with the Japanese, otherwise where did he get so much money?"

"The county didn't know who Police Officer Chu was, but his family's sudden wealth was indeed unusual. Plus, Xue Xiaoren was an old student who often hung out in the county, and he had a relative who was the head of the fast squad. With these two efforts, the criminal department hired a ticket to bring him to the government office for questioning."

"In fact, if Officer Chu had explained the source of the money or revealed the name of the young master, he wouldn't have been imprisoned. But he just said that the money was obtained legally. But he refused to reveal how it was obtained legally." Zheng Ruozeng said helplessly, "He has been detained for half a month."

"Didn't my father come to court?" Zhao Hao asked curiously.

"Oh, Lord Hai's Taihu water conservancy project also has a section in our county, which is the Loujiang River." Zheng Ruozeng pointed to the busy scene of the laborers digging trenches along the river and said, "The peach blossom flood is about to come, so my parents temporarily put aside their affairs in the county and have been living and eating on the construction site since the tenth day of the first lunar month, leading everyone to race against time."

After saying this, he couldn't help but exclaimed: "My parents are really working so hard..."

Zhao Hao was stunned when he heard this, he had promised his godmother that his father would be hers before the Lantern Festival, so why did he start working so many days in advance?

What would the godmother think? Would she think that Dad was just looking for an excuse to avoid her? Oh, would the godmother be unhappy?

"Dad, can't you hold on for a few more days?" Young Master Zhao couldn't help but sigh, and suddenly felt that asking his godmother to collude in the testimony was not so justified.

"But I have already informed Master Wu, and he will ask the master to return to the yamen tonight and to go to court to hear the case tomorrow." Zheng Ruozeng added.

"Okay." Zhao Hao nodded and clasped his fists, saying, "Then I'll trouble Mr. Kaiyang to help Chu Liuxiang fight this lawsuit."

"I have no choice but to take responsibility for Officer Chu's affairs." Zheng Ruozeng said solemnly, "It is a shame for our village to have a scum like Xue! Thank you for giving me this opportunity to make amends!"

"There are a few rotten toads everywhere, don't worry about it." Zhao Hao smiled and shook his head.

~~

At dusk, Mr. Zhao took a sedan chair and returned to the county town from the Loujiang construction site.

He admitted that he had indeed escaped. As the saying goes, a wolf at thirty is as strong as a tiger at forty. When he met Ning An, who was in his prime, he couldn't handle it even if he drank the Seven-Step Aphrodisiac Tea every day.

During the Chinese New Year, he risked his life to accompany the three times. After a few days, Mr. Zhao was completely drained and had to hide at the construction site to recuperate. When he felt that he was ready again, he went back to complete another round of work. Then he went back to the construction site to recuperate. This cycle repeated for a month and a half.

Today is not the day to pay public grain, and Mr. Zhao has not recovered yet. He complained secretly in the sedan chair, thinking that Mr. Wu was really a troublemaker. Why did he have to call me back? I don’t know that the county government is now a den of tigers and wolves, and the construction site is my safe haven.

But if he went back, Ning An would definitely think that he missed her again. A good man should not let the woman he loves get hurt. How could he let Ning An down by looking for me, Zhao Shouzheng?

Along the way, Zhao Shouzheng prepared himself mentally while silently reviewing the 36 moves of the "Dongxuanzi" taught to him by Wan Mizhai. Alas, I am old and can no longer fight against him. I can only rely on my ingenuity...

He was so focused that he didn't notice the sedan stopped.

"Dad..." When Master Zhao opened the curtain of the sedan chair, he saw his father standing with his legs spread and his hands clasped in the air.

"Uh..." Mr. Zhao blushed and explained hastily, "I'm doing horse stance."

"Oh..." Zhao Hao thought to himself. This was the first time he saw someone practicing martial arts on a sedan chair.

"Oh, son, you're finally back!" Fortunately, Mr. Zhao quickly adjusted his mood, got off the sedan chair in surprise, hugged him and said, "I miss you so much, I won't let you go this time no matter what."

"No, let go, or I'll leave now." Young Master Zhao rolled his eyes in frustration. He was already a grown man of seventeen or eighteen, why were they still hugging each other like they were little kids?

"Hey, kid, doesn't your father love you?" Zhao Shouzheng quickly let go of his hand and complained, "Why did you go out and not come back, leaving your father alone at home, lonely and cold."

"Hmm?" A soft snort exploded in Mr. Zhao's ears, and he immediately changed his words: "Thanks to your godmother, I can feel the warmth of home."

"I'm so ashamed for not taking good care of my cousin. Look how thin you are." The graceful princess knew that she couldn't kill all the fish. "Your son is back, so you should just rest at home for a few days."

"Alas, take a few days off." Zhao Shouzheng smiled and said, "I will listen to my cousin."